Mon Loup
by Fivellion
Summary: Waka and Amaterasu's return to Nippon does not go quite as expected, as a shape-shifting demon and his mysterious master weaken Amaterasu and bring darkness to the mortal world. A saga of love, selfishness, and swordplay.
1. I

Disclaimer: I do not own Okami or any characters, settings, or ideas affiliated with Okami.

Mon Loup

I

Keeping watch over Nippon from the heavens was rather like watching a very long play. One of those Kabuki affairs, except with rather less makeup. The people themselves were not exactly equivalent to actors. Rather, entire societies acted as one. The mainland was like a looming entity on the horizon, the far west a fascinating and mysterious sort of character. Nippon was the hero, of course. Waka had always been rather bored with plays and the like. Especially now that he was physically distanced from it, little things like graceful geishas and noble samurais had become so tedious and impermanent. To the humans, life was all about love affairs and courage, sake and death. It had been like that for Waka too, once, a very long time ago.

Waka turned away from Nippon and surveyed his home. It had been many months on Earth since he and Amaterasu had returned to the Celestial Plain, but only a week had passed here. Time moved more slowly in those immortal realms between life and death. Waka had hoped to find peace in the Celestial Plain, but he often found himself melancholy and restless. He wasn't like Amaterasu. She breezed dreamily about the plain, often lingering to appreciate the sunlight or the flowers or the moon. She would gaze down at Nippon and glow with the fullness of her heart. She never grew tired of watching over the people who worshipped her and she was diligent in granting their prayers when she could. She was the reason the sun rose on Nippon every morning.

When Waka was with her, he was both awed and frustrated that she could not share his dispassion. It wasn't that he missed Nippon, as he was sure some small part of Amaterasu did. Two hundred years spent largely in hiding had not endeared him to the place. He was certainly old and in some ways he was even tired, but he was not content, and Amaterasu seemed to be oblivious of this, mostly because Waka sought seclusion during the long days, even though he often wished to be by her side. It was just that, when they were together, he didn't know what to do with himself. He felt constantly that he wanted something from her that she could not give him. He assumed it was just a part of his general frustration.

The sun was setting. Waka meandered through the tall, waving grass and watched the mountains go all crisp and golden, the sun a disc of crimson dipping below the horizon. It was so beautiful here, so unbearably perfect. In the distance, Amaterasu's clear, melodic howl ushered forth the full moon. _A shadow passes over the moon and engulfs it. And there's a girl trembling clutching a baby to her breast with fear in her blue eyes, and a roar like thunder…_

_..._

The assembled brush gods bowed low as Okami Amaterasu entered the throne room of the Sun Palace. The doors swung open for her and a sweet-smelling fresh breeze wafted in as she passed by. The walls were composed of thin rice paper that let in the golden sunlight in brilliant shafts that shone blindingly on her white flanks. Amaterasu reached the end of the long stretch, turned about, and sat on her haunches, facing the twelve lesser gods.

This was an informal ritual of theirs, gathering at sunset every evening before night fell. It helped to keep abreast of the goings on, so to speak. Kabegami was the first to break the silence.

"Mother Amaterasu," said the cat. "I climbed a fantastic wall today. Would you like me to show you the spot tomorrow? It is a divine place to nap."

Amaterasu acknowledged her with a tip of her graceful head and Kabegami purred with gratification.

Kazegami, the wind god, cleared his throat importantly. "Mother Amaterasu," he said, "I am certain you have witnessed the quiet but steady intrusion of a foreign ideology upon our fair Nippon."

Amaterasu pricked her ears.

"Yes," continued the horse, "yes, I believe it's called… Confusion-ism?"

"Confucianism," corrected Tachigami in his small, piping voice. "Comes from the mainland. It is supposed to teach people to work hard and obey their betters… I imagine the human dignitaries enjoy it."

"Horrid," interjected the water goddess, Nuregami. "Absolutely despicable. I have observed this, this… _must _I call it a religion? I cannot condone the promotion of the idea that women are inferior to their male counterparts."

"Well…" interrupted Kasugami, who was fairly tipsy by this time of day. "They _do_ have those things…"

All twelve gods turned their heads in her direction. "What?" they said collectively.

"Those… oh, you know, those, eh… kimonos!"

"What of it?" snapped Nuregami.

"Well, they can't run properly, can they?" Kasugami said sensibly. "What use is a human if it can't even run?"

The gods blinked around at each other for a mystified moment, then Kazegami stamped his hoof. "I think we're getting off topic here," he asserted. "I only brought it up because Confucianism discourages prayer. What are we to do if people begin to lose their faith?" There was a grave pause.

"Oh, why can't the mainlanders keep their ridiculous theories to themselves?" exclaimed Bakugami.

"Now, I'm sure there is some merit to this Confucius character…" reasoned Yomigami uncertainly.

"Have you been listening?" retorted Nuregami.

"Naturally, serpent," replied the dragon petulantly. "I was merely-"

"_What _about the _prayer _issue?" said Kazegami. "If we aren't careful, these mainlanders will destroy the fabric of-"

"I hear tell there is a magnificent wall in the mainland."

"What_ is_ it with you and walls, Kabegami?"

Amaterasu watched the animals bicker in thoughtful silence. She was about to intervene when Waka burst through the heavy double doors. "_Mon amie_!" Amaterasu looked up at the sound of his voice. "I had a vision. The moon will be cursed. The moon princess is in danger."

"Kaguya?" Yumigami, goddess of the moon, piped up. "Mother Amaterasu, we mustn't let her life be extinguished. She is the last of her people!"

Waka gave the rabbit a pointed look.

"Oh! Well- hm. I meant-"

"I know what you meant, little _lapin_. I'm quite aware of where I stand."

Amaterasu stood and the company fell silent. She tilted her head at Waka.

"You wish me to go with you, _ma cherie_. I…" Waka had not returned to the Moon in a century- a few of them, actually- and Amaterasu knew he had never intended to return. He had no desire to relive his past. But he felt, as always, an inexplicable pull to follow the white wolf, wherever she may go. He folded his arms and shrugged. "Why ever not?" Amaterasu wagged her tail.


	2. II

II

The home of the moon tribe had been known to the Celestials as the Lunar Plain, but that was during a time when there remained people who remembered that the moon tribe existed at all. Two hundred years ago, Yami and his demon army escaped the Moon-built Ark of Yamata, attacked the Lunar Plain and killed off the Moon tribe. There were only three survivors: Kaguya, who was put into suspended animation as a child and orbited the earth in a ship for many years, Sugawara, a man who fled to Nippon and became a politician, and Waka. Waka abandoned the moon and flew to the Celestial Plain on the Ark of Yamata, where the brush gods and Celestials that inhabited the plain welcomed him. It was there that he first met the sun god Amaterasu, who took the form of a white wolf with scarlet markings.

Waka had stayed with the Celestials in peace for a time, until the eight-headed serpent Orochi flew across the heavens and wreaked havoc upon the Celestial Plain. Waka and Amaterasu faced the demon but were unsuccessful, and Waka prophecized that only the chosen one could defeat Orochi. So they gathered the Celestials onto the arc and set sail for the safety of Nippon, unaware that more of Yami's demons lurked in the bowels of the arc. Trapped in the enormous ship, the Celestials were all slaughtered by the demons. The arc crashed into the land of Kamui and unleashed the demons upon the earth. Waka and Amaterasu were left to mourn and wait for the chosen one to be born that would defeat Orochi.

At present, with both Orochi and Yami slain, Waka and Amaterasu had hoped for a new era of peace. Perhaps that was too much to ask for.

As Waka brought the ark in close for a smooth landing, he and Amaterasu found that Kaguya, the Moon Princess, had already come out to greet them. She stood looking small and resolute from where Waka and Amaterasu stood in the cockpit high above. Waka had only caught glimpses of the young princess during his time in Sei-an City, but he had known from the beginning that she was unmistakably of Lunar descent. She sported the fine features, pale blue eyes, and yellow hair that set her apart from the dark-featured native people of Nippon. Waka and Amaterasu walked through the cold iron passageways of the ark until they reached the massive port, which opened at Waka's command.

"Amaterasu!" Kaguya gave a delicate squeal of delight at the sight of Amaterasu. The wolf god barked with perhaps equal enthusiasm and bounded down the gangplank to meet her. Kaguya knelt and embraced Amaterasu, burying her small hands in the wolf's thick white fur. "It's so wonderful to see you again!" Kaguya said softly. "After everything you have done for me. I'm home, and it's thanks to you."

In answer, Amaterasu gave a pleased little wine. Waka cleared his throat.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I…" Kaguya trailed off as she took in Waka's appearance. "You… You must be-"

"_Enchanté,"_ Waka smiled thinly, gave a little bow. "We finally meet, princess. I am Waka."

"Princess?" Kaguya asked uncertainly.

"You are the only heir to the Lunar Plain, are you not?"

"Oh, oh I suppose I am…" Kaguya looked about her with a sigh. "Do forgive me, I'm still getting used to all of this." She looked down at Amaterasu. "I remember it, though. It comes back to me in pieces. A little at a time. I've begun to remember so much…" She gave Waka a distant look that made him uncomfortable. After a few beats of silence, she seemed to shake herself awake. "Won't you come with me to the temple? I've found there's quite a lot to eat here." Amaterasu gave a cheerful bark and followed the moon princess, tail wagging, Waka trailing gloomily behind.

The ancient moon city showed clear signs of disrepair and the devastation of the demon massacre so many years ago. The ground underfoot glowed faintly with pale light. The source of the moon's boundless energy supply lay deep underground, and harnessing it had enabled the moon people to do fantastic things with metal and magic. Though many of them had partly collapsed, the buildings they passed were massively tall, and some of them still pulsed here and there with that same pale light.

"May I ask what brought you here, Amaterasu and Waka?" Kaguya's manners were impeccable.

"I had a vision," Waka began.

"Oh?"

"I am a prophet."

"I see. A vision about the Moon?"

"A premonition that you would be in danger."

"… I see."

At the end of a long, wide stretch of road stood the Moon Temple in all its glory. It remained the only structure untouched by evil and time, and it was clear Kaguya had done a great deal to keep it pristine. The temple was constructed out of pillars of polished onyx, streaked with veins of the pulsing bluish light. Waka new that data traveled through these veins, to and from interface holograms inside the temple. The entire city used to be connected this way.

Inside, there was a large jade statue of the rabbit god Yumigami with offerings of fresh flowers at its feet. Waka strode to the pedestal in the back of the grand hall, turned on the hologram interface, and performed a few complicated gestures with his hands. With a rattle and a long, agonized creak of effort, the two heavy slabs that composed the roof were raised on their hinges and slid neatly away to reveal the radiant stars outside.

Kaguya gaped at Waka. "I didn't know you could do that!" Waka just smiled, a little smug. "Goodness… Oh, yes, the food. Please wait a moment."

Kaguya hurried through a door and left Waka and Amaterasu to gaze at the stars. The view from the moon was magnificent, crisp and beautiful without all that atmosphere to obscure the heavens. Waka wished suddenly that he could here Amaterasu's voice naming the constellations. It was a strange feeling. He looked sidelong at Amaterasu's canine profile in the starlight and felt something tighten in his chest.

Kaguya returned with steaming rice balls. "I hope this will do." Amaterasu descended upon the platter in a notably un-godlike fashion. "Oh, my!" Kaguya laughed, flattered, as the wolf began to lick up stray grains of rice. "I believe I shall have to make some more!"

"Ah, I'll help." Waka rose and began to follow her back into the kitchen.

"No, no, you needn't-"

"I insist."

"Well…" The girl smiled, unsure, but allowed him to follow her through the door. The kitchen was cramped and lit only by the faint glow emanating from the veins of data in the walls. Kaguya began to roll out more rice balls.

"Do not expect to satisfy Amaterasu," Waka began, leaning nonchalantly on a counter and not lifting a finger to help. "She has an insatiable appetite."

Kaguya laughed. "I'll keep that in mind."

"Aren't you interested?"

"Hm?"

"In my prophecy," Waka said offhandedly. "In your wellbeing, and certainly in the baby's wellbeing…"

There was a _thunk_ as Kaguya's hand slipped and the knife she had been using to chop octopus collided with the countertop. She stood there with her back turned to Waka for a moment.

"There was a child," he repeated. "I'm assuming it won't be coming for several more months. I usually don't have such a clear idea of when my prophecies will come true. This is fortunate for us."

"I… Yes. Yes, you're right. What will you do?"

"That depends on Amaterasu."

Kaguya faced him and nodded her fair head. She picked up a fresh tray of rice balls and moved toward the door. "I must admit, Waka, I wasn't expecting anyone besides Amaterasu. But you have been very useful."

"Expecting…?" Waka's brow furrowed at her change in tone. Then a cold chill ran down his spine. He attempted to dodge past her through the door, already calling Amaterasu's name, but the girl was lightning fast. She spun about, her elbow colliding with his jaw and hurling him backwards. His back hit the wall and his nose and mouth were immediately smothered by a huge and gnarled hand that had been small and delicate moments before. Waka's breath left him in a rush as he tried in vain to call out to Amaterasu. Kaguya's pretty face leaned in close and emitted a voice that was gruff and resonating. "Tell me, prophet," she said, "have you heard the term 'self-fulfilling prophecy?'"

Waka ripped the flute from his belt and activated the double-edged sword it concealed, thought up several witty comebacks as he slashed at the demon's belly. The demon hopped away before the sword could touch it. There was a vicious growl and Amaterasu burst through the door, teeth bared and gleaming.

"About time, _ma cherie_," Waka gasped, fighting for breath.

Amaterasu snarled and leapt at the demon. It danced away, slowly morphing Kaguya's features into those of a hog-like beast. The wolf chased it out into the grand hall, where it transformed fully into its ugly demonic form.

"Better not waste your time on me, Mother Amaterasu!" it sang in a voice like churning gears. "Your precious children need you!" With that, it melted into a gaseous vapor and flew twirling out the double door.

Waka looked at Amaterasu. "The brush gods," he said. The wolf nodded and was about to tear off in the direction of the ark when she paused, pricked her ears, and looked at the Yumigami statue. "_Ma cherie?_" Waka questioned as she crept, predatorily, toward the statue and then head-butted it, knocking it to the ground.

There was a cry of fear, and then Amaterasu barked urgently. Beneath the statue was a secret nook and there knelt Kaguya, trembling with fright. She looked up with wide blue eyes. "Amaterasu…?" Amaterasu wagged her tail and gently licked the moon princess's face. "Amaterasu! Oh, thank the gods!" Kaguya flung her arms around the wolf's neck, sobbing quietly.

"This _is_ the correct princess, yes?" Waka eyed Kaguya up and down. Amaterasu barked confidently at him. "Just making sure, _mon amie_. Now, we really must go. I have a very bad feeling."

Amaterasu stood at once and waited for Kaguya to pull herself together.

"You may ride on Amaterasu's back, Moon Princess," Waka clarified. "She doesn't mind."

Hesitantly, Kaguya sat on Amaterasu's back with her arms still securely around the wolf's neck. Soon, Amaterasu and Waka were bolting for the ark, praying they would not be too late.


	3. III

III

Kaguya stayed behind in the arc as Waka and Amaterasu tumbled out onto the plain and rushed for the Sun Palace. The moon was still out, glorious and full in the dark sky. Waka found he had to abandon traditional running and instead glide over the ground in order to keep up with the wolf. She was sprinting so fast that flowers were blooming at her heels.

Amaterasu stopped abruptly, skidding a little in the soft soil. Waka halted too, and saw a large white rabbit bounding toward them through the tall grass. "Yumigami?" Waka questioned. The rabbit hopped frantically in place in front of Amaterasu. Amaterasu barked and whined, looked at Waka. The rabbit could only be Yumigami, but she no longer looked like the moon goddess. She had lost her divine red markings and appeared to be an ordinary earth rabbit, white as new paper with small black eyes and twitching pink nose. Something was terribly wrong.

Waka and Amaterasu ran to the Sun Palace, Waka taking out his blade on the way. The brush gods were gathered outside the palace. They were all entirely white and were raising quite a din. Rather than speaking, they produced animal sounds. There was the baa of Kasugami, the plaintive meows of Kabegami, the insistent hiss of Nuregami, and trumpeting crow of Meogami.

"Have you all lost your minds?" Waka shouted over the hysterical animals. They didn't appear to hear or care about his presence. They instead crowded around Amaterasu, raising their voices even higher. The wolf flattened her ears and backed away confusedly, and Waka had to fight his way through them to make a path for her. There was a sharp crack of thunder from inside the palace. Waka and the wolf nodded to each other and barreled through the crowd into the long entrance hall.

There, they saw Gekigami, the mighty thunder god in his white tiger form, engaging in battle with an enormous crow demon. The crow's body was fairly transparent and when it opened its wings, they flowed to the floor like an inky black cloak. Gekigami, who still retained his godly markings, used his celestial power to draw a lightning bolt, which sizzled the air along with another deafening crack and tapering rumble of thunder. Lightning passed harmlessly through the crow demon, briefly illuminating and dispelling a good chunk of its body that closed up again as though it was made of shadow. The crow swooped in toward the tiger, but he leapt out its path.

"Mother Amaterasu!" Gekigami roared upon seeing the wolf. Amaterasu ran headlong at the demon and attempted the slash at it with the divine instrument on her back. The instrument passed right through the crow. "No, Mother Amaterasu! You must flee! I will hold it off!" exclaimed Gekigami. Amaterasu just tossed her head gruffly.

Waka jumped into the air, conjuring a blade, and hurled it at the demon, but again, the blade passed right through. Amaterasu retreated some ways to stand between her two comrades.

"This creature feels no pain," said Gekigami. "It has claimed the rest of my siblings. It must not take you, Amaterasu. Run!"

Amaterasu snarled what was most certainly a "no." The demon was swooping in again. Amaterasu coiled and then sprang straight up and attacked the crow's shining black eyes with her claws. The crow screeched and tossed its head, flinging Amaterasu off. She flipped in midair and landing on her feet.

"Brilliant, _ma cherie!_" Waka shouted, and aimed his next flying sword at the beast's eye. The crow dodged it, then abruptly swooped backwards towards Amaterasu. Gekigami swiftly dived in front of her and was momentarily swallowed up by the blackness. When the crow passed over him, his crimson stripes had darkened to black. He gave a mournful roar. His sacrifice, however, barely slowed the demon.

Amaterasu made a desperate dive for safety before it engulfed the wolf with the tip of its wing and drew her into its belly.

"Amaterasu!" Waka flung several swords at the demon's face at once, and a few of them hit their mark. Screeching shrilly, the crow demon fled with Amaterasu still entwined in its gut, a white, curled shape behind a curtain of shadow. Waka tore after it, with Gekigami's roar of despair in the background.

Waka chased the demon to the edge of the Celestial Plain, desperately flinging blades at its head, but was unable to slow it. It dove off the edge of the plain in the direction of Nippon, and Waka swore because he could not follow it.

That was the day the Sun stopped rising over Nippon.


End file.
